ONE BED
by Moriyasha Neko-hime
Summary: Ava's new room at the Arrow's compound is a bit more than she was expecting. - - Image by the wonderful xxaqua-marinexx


**ONE BED**

"You're about our size," Raven smiled, "so I'll lend you a pair of my pajamas—"

"—And you can have one of my old outfits," Crow finished.

Ava accepted both sets of clothes gratefully. Her own dress was falling apart, she only managed to stay decent with the help of Odin's jacket.

"The bathroom's through here." Crow hit a button on the wall, opening the door to a comfortably small shower and toilet. "The water processors work, everyone is allowed one shower a day. We usually soak in the hot springs, but you're probably pretty tired."

Hot springs? Real hot springs sounded fascinating, but Ava agreed that she was exhausted. Peeking into the bathroom, she managed a soft, "Thank you both…"

"Oh!" Raven suddenly piped up in realization. "We still need to get you a toothbrush, razors and soap!"

Ava blinked at this, having noticed the very things Raven had mentioned were already in the shower with some gratitude and curiosity. "Um…"

"We'll bring a toothbrush later," Crow sighed, "but you'll have to use Odin's shampoo and razor for now."

"Odin?" Ava blinked at the older Arrow's name. "Was this his room before?"

The twins stopped, their purple eyes glancing from Ava, to each other, and back again. Together, they answered, "This is Odin's room _right now_."

That sent the redhead's heart—wherever it was now—racing like a rabbit's. Her face glowed warm with confusion and embarrassment. "Wait, why-why am I staying in Odin's room?"

"Because he brought you here," Crow answered.

Raven nodded, "You're his responsibility."

Ava felt her face grow hotter, and not just from embarrassment. The suggestion of being anybody's responsibility, as if she were a child—or worse, a pet—was infuriating. It must have shown, because the twins started to look nervous.

"Didn't Odin explain it to you?" Raven asked meekly.

"No, he didn't," Ava sighed, trying to cool down. "Why don't you explain it to me now?"

"It's how we do things with newcomers," Crow told her, trying not to sound hasty with the explanation. "Though, really, everyone rooms together. There's only so much space between everyone here, and we use every inch of it to conserve what can before we before we decide to set up a new hovel."

The sudden understanding that there was only a small table in one corner, a desk in the other, and a queen-sized bed against the middle of one wall suddenly served to flare Ava up more.

"Right! So! Just holler if you need anything, Ava!" The sisters hurried out before the fiery teen could stop them.

Alone, Ava stared at the only bed in the room. Curious. Accusing. Terrified.

()

After he was given a stern lecture by Olai and the others, Odin was looking forward to a well-deserved sleep. He was ready to forgo dinner with the siren song of his pillows and blankets beckoning him back to the sanctuary that was his room.

Needless to say, he wasn't expecting to find a particular redhead sitting at his desk at the far end of the room, clutching one of his pillows to her front, glaring at him like an angry lava rabbit.

"Um…hi?" Odin blinked. "What-what are y-you do-doing here?"

"You tell me," Ava growled. She looked refreshed from a recent shower—her hair still damp, dressed in Raven's old night clothes—and less than pleased. "Apparently, I'm _your_ responsibility."

Odin was confused at first. Then he remembered and hid his face in one hand with a loud groan. He had expected Ava to stay with Gil and Maggie in one of the older units, but he could guess that Raven and Crow had intercepted and brought the redhead to his room instead.

"Dammit, I d-didn't…!" Sighing, his violet eyes reluctantly met Ava's red. "S-sorry, the girls j-just…misunderstood."

"What, exactly?" Ava pried darkly.

Odin rubbed the back of his neck nervously, glancing back out his open door in the hopes that someone else might come and explain things for him. Neither of them were going to enjoy this particular conversation.

"O-okay, s-so. There are o-only a few families h-here, m-mostly all re-related by now," he told her, moving to stand near his small dining table. "Usually, when s-s-singles bring someone b-back, it's to…" Odin trailed off with a nervous cough. "N-newcomers are…u-usually the…n-new husbands o-or wives of-of the s-singles who brought th-them here. S-so the rules ha-have them room t-together…"

Ava had no spoken or moved throughout Odin's explanation. But her grip was slowly burning the pillow, showing his words had done the opposite of soothe the girl's feelings.

"I'm not your wife," Ava finally said through clenched teeth. Sharp, clenched teeth.

"No, you're not," Odin sighed.

"Which is stupid," Crow piped up from the doorway. "You're way better than his first pic—"

"Crow! D-Don't eavesdrop!" Odin jumped up.

Crow shoved a small tray of food into his stomach. "First, I was bringing Ava some dinner. Second, close the damn door if you don't want people to hear your conversations. Third—"

Odin took the tray, shutting and locking the door in his sister's face before she could carry it any further. Setting the food down on his table, he once again looked back at the redhead with some amount of reluctance, unsure of just how he could go about easing her discomfort. He was surprised to find her fiery complexion had dimmed somewhat, her grip relaxing and leaving the lightly singed pillow in her lap.

"So…" She finally spoke, soft and oddly sad. "So, originally, _Maggie_ was supposed to room with you…"

It wasn't a question. Odin flinched only slightly, but his insides made a horribly unpleasant lurch at the observation he couldn't bring himself to answer.

Accepting his silence, Ava stood up and dropped her pillow to the floor before kneeling down. She settled herself with her back to Odin and the bed.

Blinking, he asked, "Wh-what are you doing?"

"Going to sleep, I'm tired," she answered flatly, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Y-you can take the bed," he told her as he moved the food tray more securely on the table. It was fine the way it was, he just wanted some sort of diversion, no matter how brief or weak. "I'll s-sleep on th-the floor."

"This is fine," the redhead sighed.

Seeing she was set on this, Odin took the remaining pillow before pulling off the top blanket. Once it was freed from the mattress, he tossed it away to land on Ava. She sat up immediately, flailing somewhat to escape the blanket's clutches. She got her head free just in time to see the lights go out and Odin drop down to the floor on the other side of the bed.

"Why aren't you sleeping on the bed?" Ava asked, peering over the mattress, just barely catching sight of the older boy's shoulder in the dark.

"Wh-what kind of l-loser sleeps in a b-bed, when th-there's a girl sl-sleeping on the fl-floor?" Odin waved. "Good night."

"…g'night."

Ava stared through the shadows at him while longer. Odin's breathing slowed as he relaxed, though she doubted he was asleep that fast. But after a while, she laid back down on the pillow and bundled up in the blanket, deciding to try and sleep.

The blanket, like his jacket, smelled like smoke, pine trees and whatever it was he smoked. It was a nice, soothing smell, but she found she couldn't relax. It was impossible, knowing there was someone else in the room. What's more, a boy, whom she was supposed to share this room with until further notice. She could just imagine what Maggie would say, how Gil would look at her. Neither would be very nice.

But as uncomfortable as the situation was, she was just too tired to fight sleep the whole night. Eventually, though it was a long time, Ava drifted off.

()

_Small-shiny-dark space._

_Trapped. _

_Couldn't breathe._

_Couldn't scream._

_Couldn't feel anything. Not even the cold._

_There were pieces of the girl at her feet._

_She didn't want to look up. Didn't want to see._

_But she knew, she knew her own face was falling right off her bones._

_She saw what little of herself existed fall to the floor._

()

Ava pulled her voice from that faraway place it had been stolen to and screamed. She screamed until her ears hurt. Suddenly, it wasn't dark anymore. Her eyes hurt at the abrupt change, and her voice gradually died as she woke up a second time. She heard someone calling her name. She felt someone's hands on her shoulders.

"_Ava!_"

She was shaken once more as her vision started to clear. The dark blur in front of her took shape of the dark boy and his bedroom. Unfamiliar, but very much alive. TITAN HQ had been cold and sterile. The container-machine she had been trapped inside was even more so. But this place was alive, safe.

Ava hastily felt her face for the incisions that rendered flesh and bone from nerve, and was relieved when she could feel her skin, smooth and whole. But the sudden realization of hot tears trailing down her cheeks woke her up the rest of the way.

Odin still held her arms in an almost painful grip, concern and something like terror written across his sharp features. Ava then noted the orangey-red glow to his otherwise pale skin, and looked at her hands to find she was glowing again. But more than just glowing, she realized that the blanket she held in a near-death grip was actually burning ferociously.

"Ah!" She hastily let go of the heavy fabric, shaking her hands out of instinctive panic upon releasing the small blaze. No wonder Odin woke up. Her screaming aside, she was surprised she hadn't set off a fire alarm.

Seeing that she was herself again, Odin hurried to the table to grab the glass of whatever Crow had brought with Ava's dinner earlier and threw it on the fire. An oddly wretched hiss marked the death of the flames and the room was filled with smoke. Coughing, he then opened his windows to allow the vapors to escape and pleasant night breeze to enter.

"Wh-what was _that_?" Odin turned to look back her, his panic still fresh as he tried to catch his breath.

Ava had always had the occasional night terror, thanks to Wrathia. Back at school, she had been given her own room at the dormitory because, after a while, no one could stand rooming with her and her inconstant fits. Because of her Pact with Wrathia, Ava had assumed she couldn't have nightmares anymore, since the two could meet while she was asleep. But there was brand new fuel to throw on the fire of her screwed up psyche now. And she was certain Odin wouldn't want anything more to do with her after this lovely mess.

Swallowing, choking, hiccupping, Ava used the sleeve of her borrowed pajamas to try and dry her face. But her tears wouldn't stop. Hot, salty water just kept flowing. Certain she was annoying Odin with her antics, as well as her failure to answer, she took a hard breath.

"S-s-sor-s-sorry!" She finally managed to throw out amidst her trembling and choking. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I'll be quiet now! I'm sorry!"

Ava started to roll over to hide under her soaked, burnt blanket, hoping that they could just turn the lights off and go back to sleep. But Odin caught her hand as she grabbed the covers and pulled her back. She braced herself for the blow or shouting that usually followed one of her normal nightmares, knowing that this was going to be worse.

So there was only incredible astonishment when Odin sat her down on the bed beside him and set a bottle of water from his personal stash in her hands. While the plastic container wasn't ice-cold, the cooler feel of it in her trembling fingers was enough to shock her into relative stillness. With tearful eyes, she just stared at it for a long while, before slowly turning to look up at Odin.

The older, dark-haired boy looked less frantic than before. Sitting beside her, while still somewhat uncertain, he was the picture of patience. He didn't poke or prod. He just sat there. Waiting.

Before, all of her previous dorm-mates had gotten mad at her for waking them up, thrown things or yelled at her. This was the first time anyone had allowed her the space and consideration to collect herself. That was enough to send her crying again. While not as hysterically as before, she felt some ball of messed up feelings unwind at his silence and concern.

"It-it was…supposed to be _me_!" She sobbed. "It was going to be me! But because she was in there, I was saved! I can't die but-but she—There were pieces of her everywhere! There was nothing left! And then—then—"

Odin didn't ask what she meant. He didn't really have to. He didn't really want to.

"I didn't even know her name…!" She hid her face against the bottle in her hands as she struggled to stop her crying. "I'm sorry…! I'm sorry…! I just…!" She sobbed harder than she thought possible. "My head is a mess! I feel like I'm still inside that thing! I'm pieces on the floor! I don't—"

Ava was stunned when she felt Odin put his arm around her shoulder and lightly pull her closer. Her tear-soaked face met his shirt, and she knew it must have hurt him just a little to touch her at all, but her held her gently. The touch of another person was so alien to her, she wanted to pull away. But she couldn't help leaning closer, seeking comfort in his arms. But not even Odin's warmth combined with the fire in her own veins could chase away the chill that kept her trembling.

Odin didn't have any answers than she did. All he could do was sit beside her as she let loose her fear and utter despair.

And that's what he did. Until her choking sobs died down to whimpers and hiccups. Until her grip on his shirt loosed slightly as she gathered herself. Until they both drifted off into a blessedly dreamless sleep.

()

The next morning, the twins went to wake Odin and Ava. The door was locked, but Raven had brought her copy of Odin's key card. Opening the door just a little, they peeked their heads inside and peered around the room.

They shouldn't have been surprised to find their brother and his fiery companion in the same place. After all, there was only one bed in the room.


End file.
